Objects

in two distinct ways to refer to two different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language´s speakers. Under this definition, the dialects or varieties of a particular language are closely related and, despite their differences, are most often largely mutually intelligible, especially if close to one another on the dialect continuum. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class or ethnicity. A dialect that is associated with a particular social class can be termed a sociolect, a dialect that is associated with a particular ethnic group can be termed an ethnolect, and a geographical/regional dialect may be termed a regiolect (alternative terms include ´regionalect´, ´geolect´, and ´topolect´). According to this definition, any variety of a given language can be classified as "a dialect", including any standardized varieties. In this case, the distinction between the "standard language" (i.e. the "standard" dialect of a particular language) and the "nonstandard" (vernacular) dialects of the same language is often arbitrary and based on social, political, cultural, or historical considerations. In a similar way, the definitions of the terms "language" and "dialect" may overlap and are often subject to debate, with the differentiation between the two classifications often grounded in arbitrary and/or sociopolitical motives.[10] The term "dialect" is however sometimes restricted to mean "non-standard variety", particularly in non-specialist settings and non-English linguistic traditions.[11][12][13][14]The other usage of the term "dialect", specific to colloquial settings in countries like Italy and the Philippines,[15][16] carries a pejorative undertone and underlines the socially subordinated status of a language to another language, often historically cognate or genetically related to the standardized dominant language, but not actually derived from it. In other words, it is not an actual variety of the national or dominant language, but rather a separate, independently evolved but often related language. In this sense, unlike in the first usage, the standardized language would not itself be considered a "dialect", as it is the dominant language in a particular state or region, whether in terms of linguistic prestige, social or political status, official status, predominance or prevalence, or all of the above. Meanwhile, under this usage, the "dialects" subordinate to the dominant language are generally not variations of it but rather separate (but often loosely related) languages in and of themselves. Thus, these "dialects" are not dialects or varieties of a particular language in the same sense as in the first usage; though they may share roots in the same family or subfamily as the dominant language and may even, to varying degrees, share some mutual intelligibility with the standardized language, they often did not evolve closely with the standard language or within the same linguistic subgroup or speech community as the standardized language and instead may better fit various parties’ criteria for a separate language. The term "dialect" used this way might imply a political connotation, being used to refer to low-prestige regional languages (even those distant from the national language), languages lacking institutional support, or those perceived as unsuitable for writing.[17] The designation "dialect" is also used popularly to refer to the unwritten or non-codified languages of developing countries or isolated areas,[18][19] where the term "vernacular language" would be preferred by linguists.[20]A dialect is distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation (phonology, including prosody). Where a distinction can be made only in terms of pronunciation (including prosody, or just prosody itself), the term accent may be preferred over dialect. Other types of speech varieties include jargons, which are characterized by differences in lexicon (vocabulary); slang; patois; pidgins; and argots. The particular speech patterns used by an individual are termed an idiolect." - (en.wikipedia.org 11.10.2019)